Working Out the Kinks
by HouseKeeper13
Summary: Post Jaws. Martin Brody seeks an old friend to help get his life back together. Together they can work out all the kinks. Slash: Sheriff Brody/Matt Hooper. Very mild angst.


**Working out the Kinks**

**Disclaimer: ** If I owned Jaws you can bet your cupcakes I wouldn't have sold the rights to make a remake! ::GRUMBLE GRUMBLE:: like the sequels weren't bad enough…

**Author's Note: **This is my first Jaws fic. Please read and review. You can basically ignore all the sequels because I have disowned them. You can also ignore anything in the book because I never read it. I heard that Matt sleeps with Ellen and that basically told me I didn't want to read it. Anyway, the way I see it this is only one of a very few Jaws fics, and the only slash fic as far as I know, so I think that everyone whose made it this far to hunt the story down and to click on it, knowing full well that this is slash owes it to me to leave a review. Right? It doesn't have to be a positive review if you didn't like it. But the whole point of this site is to improve our writing abilities by peer feedback! Anyway please, please please Read and review!

Working Out the Kinks

Sheriff Martin Brody had never been the kind of man to express himself well. After the whole shark fiasco, he hadn't ever fully recovered. He had simply seen too much, and kept it all bottled up. It was something Ellen had never understood. As far as Martin was concerned she never could understand even if he could relive the memories of what had happened out on The Orca, even if he could express it in words. Maybe she had no business knowing. Oh she had tried to understand, tried to make him open up and tell her everything that went on when he had been hunting that shark. But he never did. For Ellen it was too much. She had found comfort in Doctor Brandon. Martin didn't blame her, he only blamed himself for driving her away. He figured it was only temporary and when she came back to him, then he would be ready to step up and be her husband. He was wrong. One morning he woke up to find a note saying that she had fallen in love with Brandon, and was taking the boys to stay with her and the doctor. Martin only stayed in town long enough to sign the divorce papers. After that he turned in his badge and said goodbye to his kids. He couldn't stay in a town that held so many memories.

Martin headed back to New York, where things had been better. What he needed when he got there, more than anything else was a place to stay. That's why he called Matt Hooper. Matt wasn't hard to track down. Turns out he was a pretty big deal in the scientific community. Not that Martin was surprised. Matt was too smart not to make a splash in the world. Martin had tried to convince Matt to stick around in Amity, and he had for a while. Then, Matt came to him one morning and asked if there was a reason for him to stick around. Martin simply lowered his head. That was enough of an answer for Matt. He said that "Amity was getting to be too small" for him, and he walked out the door, and out of Martin's life. That was around the same time Martin realized the town was too small for him too.

Matt had seemed surprised to say the least when he answered Martin's call. His first question was if there "was another shark problem?" Martin's answered caused him then to ask "what reason he could have for calling?" Martin hadn't told him he wanted to crash at Matt's. Not yet, anyway. Instead he said he wanted to see him again. Matt's reply was bitter and caused Martin more than a little guilt. He asked "How's life with Ellen?" The ex sheriff replied "I wouldn't know" with a lot less pain than he expected to feel. However, Matt didn't ease up. "Why don't you just go back to her, Martin?" Again, Martin was surprised how little it hurt to tell his fried that he and his wife were divorced. This caused Matt pause. He asked his next question a lot more gently, conveying a message of sympathy, and yet—hope: "How long, Martin?" Martin smiled and answered with total sincerity. "A lot less time than the marriage was over." Matt considered this for what to Martin felt like an eternity. Finally he softly gave Martin his street name and apartment number.

As he stared at the door to his best friend's apartment Martin was filled with an inexplicable sense of anticipation. This was Matt after all. Why was he so nervous? Matt was his best friend. They had been through more together in those few weeks than most people experience in a lifetime. Still, something was tugging at him, something different but not completely foreign. He was excited to be staying with Matt, but the very notion scared him shitless. He wasn't even totally sure why he was there in the first place. He had more than enough money, the divorce had seen to that. He didn't need to be crashing at Matt's. He could just as well afford to stay in a hotel—a nice one at that. But he didn't want to. He wanted to be near Matt. That's the part that scared him so much. He would have liked to tell himself that he only wanted to be near someone who had experienced what he had, but it was more than that. There was something about Matt that was drawing Martin in, something that accounted for his appearance at the door of Matt Hooper's apartment waiting for the courage to knock on the door and tackle whatever happened once he went inside.

After a couple more moments of recollecting himself Martin knocked on the door. Before he barely had time to retrieve his hand, the door opened, reveling Matt Hooper, sizing him up with his hands crossed over his chest. Martin couldn't contain the smile that spread across his face upon seeing Matt. Matt looked skeptical at first, but when he saw Martin's luggage next to him in the doorway he couldn't help but smile.

"Just wanted to come and visit your old friend, hmm Brody?"

"All right, you caught me Hooper, I need a place to crash."

Matt smiled at this, relieved that the ulterior motives of Martin Brody were finally in the open. Matt stepped aside, gesturing for Martin to enter the apartment. As Martin grabbed his luggage and shuffled into the room, Matt noticed exactly how much luggage he had.

"Man, that's a lot of stuff Martin. Just how long are you planning on crashing here again?"

Martin responded with the same answer he had been practicing on the cab ride over. "Just as long as it takes for me to get on my feet again." He knew Matt would appreciate an answer that offered a suggested timetable, but still lacked a definitive date.

Matt motioned Martin to a closet where he could put his things, and gave him a tour of the apartment. Matt opened the door to show Martin what was obviously a guest room judging by the closet and windows, but had no bed. This seemed to be where Matt kept the things that needed a place to stay, because although he wasn't ready to get rid of them, they didn't fit with the order and cleanliness of the house. Martin was told he could keep his things in that room, and use the closet and the dresser. He thanked his host and left to grab his luggage from the hall and bring it into the spare room—his room.

Matt stood in the doorway for a while, watching Martin unpack and sort through his bags, until finally he turned around and left, closing the door behind him. Martin wouldn't have known Matt had left were it not for the empty feeling he got, a feeling of being alone. Martin had been alone for too long. He didn't want to be alone any more. Now, he wanted someone else in his life to help him through the nightmares and the memories—he needed Matt. That's why he was here.

Martin quickly finished unpacking and left to find Matt. What he found however, was a note on the counter that read in a childish scrawl:

_Martin,_

_Went to the store to get groceries for the week. Then out with a friend. Be back later tonight. Feel free to go find something to eat._

_Matt._

Martin was shocked to say the least. Matt had left? He came here so he wouldn't be alone. Was this what it was going to be like every night? And who was this friend? Martin was beginning to regret his decision to come to live with Matt in the first place. Maybe he should just find a hotel and crash there, before moving on to some other state and finding a job there. He couldn't be a cop again, not for a big city where the cops actually did something. He wouldn't know where to begin. And he couldn't live in a small town again. He needed a new career, but he had been a cop his entire life. He wasn't sure what else he was capable of doing with his life.

He had lain on the floor in his "room" trying to fall asleep. It was after eleven and Matt still wasn't home. Martin had never imagined Matt Hooper to be the kind of man to stay out all night. The more he thought about it maybe he didn't know Matt so well after all. For what felt like the millionth time Martin considered leaving Matt's house. Still, something was holding him back. He felt like there was something he needed to do here, something he needed from Matt, and he needed to stay here until he accomplished it.

Martin was still trying to fall asleep when he heard keys jingling in the lock, and the door being pushed open. He heard a loud sigh and the door shutting softly, then the muffled clicks of the locks being secured. Martin wanted to get up and confront Matt now, but figured it would be better to collect his thoughts and wait for morning when they each had a fresh start. He silently chastised himself for not collecting his thoughts during these countless hours he was left to his thoughts. He vowed to be prepared when tomorrow came, and would deal with whatever came of it. Sighing, Martin Brody lay back down on the floor and waited for morning to come. Little did he know that at that very moment Matt Hooper was lying in his bed hoping for the same illusive sleep to come, and anxiously awaiting tomorrow. Each trying not to let their thoughts be too consumed with the other, each failing miserably.

It was the longest night of both their lives.

The next morning Martin awoke early. He didn't want to risk Matt pulling the same stunt as the night before and leaving before they could have a real discussion. However, when he tried to move he found his back was terribly stiff from sleeping on the hard floor. He made a mental note to go out and buy an air mattress at the nearest sporting good store later. It took him a long time, but finally Martin was able to sit up and painfully make his way into the kitchen. He barely made it to the fridge when he heard a voice from the kitchen table.

"How'd you sleep?" The question wasn't demanding or accusatory, but it did hold a twinge of guilt.

Martin put on his best fake smile and prepared himself for the conversation he spent all night going over in his head. "Fine. Thanks for letting me crash here." As he bent down to get the milk he visibly winced. This didn't escape Matt's notice.

"What's wrong with your back? You didn't sleep on the floor did you?"

At this Martin lost all control of his temper. "Of course I slept on the floor. Where the hell else would I sleep? You knew damn well that the room you gave me had no bed, and when you came home you had to have noticed I wasn't around, and when you woke up you saw I wasn't up. You knew where the hell I was sleeping!"

Matt had hardly winced. Instead in an incredulous voice he asked Martin, "Why the hell would you do a stupid thing like sleep on the floor?"

Martin replied in an honest attempt to stay calm. "Because, Hooper that's the room you gave me to sleep in."

Matt simply laughed. "Martin, I meant for you to keep your stuff there. You could have slept on the couch!"

Martin balled up his fists, infuriated that the man could be laughing at his pain. "Well how the hell was I supposed to know I was allowed to do that!" he grumbled.

Matt continued laughing, this time increasing the gusto of his laugh, when he pointed to the couch. Martin took a fleeing glance at the couch to see that indeed it had been made up for a guest with blankets and pillows. At this Martin had to join in with Matt's laughter.

When the two of them finally died down, the tension seemed to finally break. They looked at each other in all seriousness, each knowing the conversation they were about to partake in was going to be intense, and long overdue.

"Did she clean you out that much?" Matt asked quietly. "I could loan you some money, you know. It wouldn't be a problem. I would say it was a gift, but I imagine you're a bit too proud for that."

"Matt, money isn't a problem. She let me take everything. She's with a doctor now."

"Why are you really here, Martin?"

Martin began to sit down opposite Matt at the table. "Matt—" he began, when suddenly he felt a searing pain ripping through his back. He cried out it pain. Matt, presumably mistaking his outburst for frustration and an unwillingness to talk about what was really bothering him, stood up from the table in a huff. Martin quickly called after him and tried to jerk up after him, only to have another shot of pain through his back. As he cried out again, he looked around for Matt. When he didn't see him he waited for the spasms to subside before trying to explain the pain had been what had caused him to shout out, not that he was frustrated with Matt. Suddenly, Matt appeared in the doorway to his bedroom, with his sleeves rolled up.

"I know that, sheriff."

"Please Matt, don't call me that anymore." Martin pleaded, trying unsuccessfully to stand up painlessly and move over to where Matt was. Matt, seeing is vain attempts took a few quick strides over to his friend's side and positioned himself so the taller man could use him as a crutch. Martin re-adjusted himself on Matt, as Matt steered them into his bedroom.

"Matt, what're you doing?" Martin asked, more confused than alarmed.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Brody? I'm going to fix your back." Matt then guided Martin over to his bed. He instructed Martin to unbutton his shirt, then, tossing it aside, instructed him to lie on his stomach. Matt aided him with the last feat, and proceeded to climb on the bed and straddle Martin. Martin was surprised to find how willing to comply with Matt he was, and how much he trusted Matt with his body.

The smaller man first rubbed Martin's back, trying to relax the muscles. Every now and again Martin would grunt in pain. Matt was the first one to speak.

"Martin, you have to let your body relax. You're too tense."

Martin responded through barred teeth. "Damn it, Hooper, this hurts!"

"Martin," Hooper replied calmly, "sometimes cleansing yourself of something painful requires more pain before you can heal. Sometimes all it takes is to work it out."

Martin was completely ignorant of the hidden meaning. "Matt," he whispered. "Are we talking about my back anymore?" Matt's reply was almost inaudible. "You tell me."

Martin took a deep breath and began letting out all the painful memories he had been holding in since he first stepped aboard the Orca. "Matt, you weren't there. You didn't see Quint. I mean he wasn't a bad man. He didn't deserve to die that way. It was so terrible. I mean you hear about these terrible men who killed tons of people, and they get the death sentence. But what did Quint ever do? He never did anything so terrible. He was just a crazy old man, Matt. Why the hell should he die a more painful death than some bastard who kills a dozen children and rapes their mothers? It's not fair! Watching him slip out of my hands, it's my entire fault. I couldn't hold him. He slipped out of my hands and into the mouth of that beast. He never even got a proper memorial. I mean there wasn't anyone to mourn him, there wasn't anyone waiting for him. And when I killed that shark… when I killed him I blew him up. I blew up any remains of Quint there were. Quint just had his body desecrated in the worst way. I blew it the fuck up, Matt!"

During Martin's release Matt never stopped rubbing his back, trying to work out all the kinks. He stayed quietly and just listened to this troubled man release what had been held in for far too long. When he was sure Martin was done he spoke for the first time. "Martin, you know it wasn't your fault. Quint would have wanted you to kill that bastard."

"I can't believe it had to be done that way, Matt."

"It did, Martin. Otherwise you and I would not have survived. I promise you that."

Martin sighed, the pain almost forgotten as Matt continued to work on his back. It continued that way for a while, Matt rubbing Martin's back, applying pressure and releasing, while probing Martin to open up and release everything else, his nightmares about the sharks, Ellen's affair, and everything in between. They stayed that way for hours, Matt never ceasing to massage Martin's back, all the while allowing the man to open up completely and totally. Finally, Martin put his hands back to stop Matt.

"It doesn't hurt so much now."

"Are we still talking about your back?"

"No. We're not. Thanks."

"Anytime, Martin. Just let me ask you. Why me? Why not Ellen?"

"Because she didn't go through it all with me."

"Neither did I, Martin. You know that. You said so yourself. I wasn't there to see Quint."

"Then maybe I just needed you for you."

Matt paused for a moment, wondering if he should reveal his whereabouts of last night to Martin. After a moment he decided that they had just been too honest to hold anything back now.

"I was with my boyfriend last night." Martin sighed. He had come here for nothing. Matt didn't need him in his life, he didn't even want him in his life. He could merely supply a small "oh."

"I broke up with him." At this Martin let out a sigh of relief he didn't even know he was holding. He felt elated.

"I'm sorry, Matt."

"Are you, Martin?"

Martin considered this. If he was honest with himself it didn't take long to know the answer. "No. I guess I'm not. Why did you do it?"

"Because you came back in my life."

"I did."

Matt asked the question that was on both their minds "What does this mean?"

Martin smiled a wry smile and asked the question that had driven them apart before. "Is there a reason for me to stay?"

Matt laughed a hearty laugh and placed a kiss to Martin's back. "Yes. There is. I want you here with me."

Martin rolled over and faced Matt full on. "Good, because otherwise that bus and cab fare was a huge waste of money."

Matt laughed and kissed Martin full on the lips, easing him back against the pillows.

When night came, Martin made to get up from the bed.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Matt called from the spot next to him. "I can't have you sleeping on the floor again, and you're far too tall for that couch. You'll need to stay here for your back."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact it is."

Martin relaxed back into the bed, eager to exercise a bit more before he went to sleep. Strictly to see if his back was up to it of course. They stayed together that night, making love and discussing the past and the future.

Their relationship was far from perfect, but they had each other and that was all they wanted. And they were willing to stay and work out all the kinks. And that was all they needed.

**Fin.**

**Author's Note: **There, now everyone owes me their thoughts!


End file.
